Kickin’ Chickens

It was the early 1980s, and I was a very small person. With gumboots up to my knees and a plastic bucket gripped tightly in my hand, I walked the dirt path down the hill towards a shed with a fenced-in yard.

The only sounds were birds chirping and a faint rustling of the wind. I was anxious. Steeling myself throughout my approach, whispering words of encouragement, I finally met the door, and reached wayyyy up to unlatch it.

I knew what was behind that door. And they knew I was coming.

Chickens.

Only if you have been a 5 year old up against an army of hens who quite clearly do not want you to take their eggs will you know my frustration. My answer at the time was to kick them, and hit them with my bucket. After a while, those smart little peckers figured out that they could best me by coming at me in waves. That’s when I started bringing the hose. After all, no chicken was going to best me.

But with my plan came collateral damage. That’s right: broken eggs. Eventually, my father got tired of receiving half a pail of broken eggs from his soaking wet little girl, and created a solution.

Every hen had a nest against the wall. They faced away from the wall, looking out the door to the yard. Even to a chicken, staring at the wall can be boring. My father cut a door behind every single nest, and fixed each one with a latch.

From then on, I could gather eggs in peace, unlatching each door one by one, scooping still-warm (and frankly, quite gross) eggs from underneath the hen. They never noticed.

Chickens aren’t bright.

Every chicken farmer I’ve ever met – and strangely, yes, I have met quite a few – has had the same problem. Most people just kick chickens, dealing with the same daily frustration, assuming that there’s only one way to get those eggs.

My father knew – and now you know – that there’s always a back door.

Whether you’re gathering eggs, building a reputation, gathering customers, or just making enough money to pay the bills, you can choose to kick chickens like everyone else, or you can stop and think of a better way.

With twenty years' experience in the financial services industry, education in both personal and corporate finance, business and family law, cross border planning, family dynamics, insurance, risk management, operations management, and strategy, Julia is a powerhouse financial planner and the co-founder of Spring Financial Planning.